Nutritional and health challenges of pastoralist populations in Kenya

This paper examines nutritional and health challenges facing pastoralists who inhabit fragile rangelands and are one of the most nutritionally vulnerable population groups in Kenya. The review is based on a synthesis of literature on pastoralist food security, nutrition and health status and livelihoods in Kenya’s rangelands. Documents reviewed included health and nutrition surveys, journal articles, case studies, reports from Non-Governmental Organisations and ‘grey’ literature. The main nutritional challenge is food insecurity leading to high malnutrition rates. Global acute malnutrition rates for the last five years ranged from 10 to 28%. Nutritional status of pastoralists varies with seasons, with high malnutrition experienced during droughts, which have been worsened by increasing climate change. Micronutrient deficiencies include iron, folic acid and niacin. Pregnant women consume restricted diets in the belief that they will have easier delivery. This leads to low birth weight, estimated at 13% among some pastoral groups. Knowledge of breastfeeding and complementary feeding is poor. Infants are introduced to animal milk from a few days old, which is a risk factor for malnutrition and morbidity. Besides experiencing chronic under-nutrition, pastoralists carry a substantial disease burden and are poorly covered by health services. The main diseases are malaria, respiratory tract infections and diarrhoea. Availability of safe drinking water is a challenge, and pastoralists are frequently affected by water-borne diseases. Sedentarisation also presents negative nutritional consequences to pastoralists including inadequate housing and lack of clean drinking water. Efforts to address the challenges should focus on nutrition education around the importance of appropriate weight gain during pregnancy, benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, and sanitation concerning safe drinking water. At the community level, there should be an integrated approach by all stakeholders implementing health and nutrition interventions in pastoralist areas. At the national level, interventions should focus both on relief and resilience building, and be tailor-made specifically for the pastoralist communities. The nutritional impact of such interventions needs to be established.Key words: Food security, livelihoods, nutrition, health, pastoralists, rangelands, Keny

Survey of postharvest handling, preservation and processing practices along the camel milk chain in Isiolo district, Kenya

Despite the important contribution of camel milk to food security for pastoralists in Kenya, little is known about the postharvest handling, preservation and processing practices. In this study, existing postharvest handling, preservation and processing practices for camel milk by pastoralists in Isiolo, Kenya were assessed through crosssectionalsurvey and focus group discussions. A total of 167 camel milk producerhouseholds, 50 primary and 50 secondary milk traders were interviewed. Survey findings showed that milking was predominantly handled by herds-boys (45.0%) or male household heads (23.8%) and occasionally by spouses (16.6%), sons (13.9%) and daughters (0.7%). The main types of containers used by both producers and traders to handle milk were plastic jerricans (recycled cooking oil containers), because they were cheap, light and better suited for transport in vehicles. Milk processing wasthe preserve of women, with fresh camel milk and spontaneously fermented camel milk (suusa) being the main products. Fresh milk was preserved by smoking of milk containers and boiling. Smoking was the predominant practice, and was for extending the shelf life and also imparting a distinct smoky flavour to milk. The milk containerswere fumigated with smoke from burned wood of specific tree species such as Olea africana, Acacia nilotica, Balanities aegyptica and Combretum spp. Boiling was practised by primary milk traders at collection points to preserve milk during times when transport to the market was unavailable. Milk spoilage at the primary collection point in Kulamawe was aggravated by lack of cooling facilities. At the secondary collection point in Isiolo town, milk was refrigerated overnight before onward transmission to Nairobi. The mean quantity of traded milk was 83.2±3.8 litres. The main problems experienced by milk traders in Isiolo included milk spoilage (43.0% ofrespondents), delayed payments—after one or two days (19.9%), loss of money due to informal courier (12.2%), low prices of fermented milk (10.9%), milk rejection by customers in Nairobi (7.1%), inadequate supply during dry season (3.5%), loss of milk due to bursting of containers (2.1%) and milk not being supplied by producers due to insecurity (1.3%). In-depth understanding of the postharvest handling, preservation and processing practices would help to devise appropriate strategies thatwould increase the quantity and improve the quality of marketed camel milk. Such strategies should include the improvement of infrastructure such as milk transport, collection, cooling and processing facilities of suitable capacity

Simple evaporative cooling method reduces bacterial content of traditionally marketed camel milk in Isiolo county, Kenya

Milk marketing is important for many pastoralists to generate income, especially poor households residing near towns. Milk is typically collected in plastic containers using unhygienic methods at pastoral settlements. It is then transported.often over long distances.to market on foot, by pack animals, or automobiles. Despite the challenges of ambient heat and lengthy transportation periods, pastoralists or traders do not attempt to cool marketed milk and thus reduce the risk of spoilage. Spoilage ofmarketed milk is an important problem that limits urban demand and endangers human health. There is a need to find simple and cost-effective means in such situations to improve milk quality and benefit producers and consumers. The study objective was to determine the effects of using water-soaked hemp (burlap).wrapped around 3.0 litres plastic containers.on reducing the temperature and enhancing chemical qualities of marketed camel milk, a key commodity in Africafs dry lands. The work was undertaken in north-central Kenya in a milk catchment incorporatingpastoral settlements at Kulamawe and the market destination of Isiolo town. An experimental design that mimicked the daily milk collection and transport procedures was used. Pairs of plastic containers.with or without moistened hemp.were carried first by donkeys and then by lorry on eight market runs during the dry season. Samples of milk were taken at the early morning milking at Kulamawe and again after arrival at the Isiolo market in the late afternoon. Milk was analyzed for temperature,resazurin reactivity at 10 and 60 minutes (i.e., R10 and R60), and total bacterial count (TBC). Effects of milk container placement during transport, treatment, and time on milk attributes were assessed using an analysis of variance for a randomized complete block design, with blocks based on eight instances of milk being transported to market. A factorial treatment structure also incorporated time as a repeated measure. On average, milk took 7.4 hr to cover 80 km to market. Compared to the controls, upon arrival at market, the moistened hemp treatment significantly reduced (p .0.028) milk temperature by 10% and total bacterial count by 43%. It also significantly increased (p . 0.023) R10 and R60 milk-quality values. This simple and readily adoptable intervention can therefore reduce risks of milk spoilage along such a value chain under similar field conditions.Key words: Appropriate Technology, Value Chains, Pastoralis

Measuring consumers' interest in instant fortified pearl millet products: a field experiment in Touba, Senegal

BACKGROUND : In Africa, food-processing industries are emerging fast, especially for cereals. New low-cost extrusion cookers give small enterprises an opportunity to enter the market for processed cereal products, in particular instant, fortified and flavored mixes. Before engaging in the marketing of these products, consumers’ interest needs to be assessed. This study used a combination of affective tests and experimental auctions with 200 consumers in Touba, Senegal to evaluate four new products with conventional pearl millet flour as the control: instant pearl millet flour, instant pearl millet flour with added dry mango and carrot powder (naturally fortified), and the previous products with added conventional chemical micronutrient fortificants. RESULTS : During affective tests, consumers made little distinction between the five products in appearance, aroma, taste and overall appreciation. The experimental auctions showed that, without providing additional information on the products, there was no difference in ‘willingness to pay’ (WTP) between them. However, after that information is provided, consumers were willing to pay a modest premium for instant flour, and a large premium for added mango and carrot extract and for added micronutrients, but were not willing to pay a premium if those micronutrients came from natural sources. Income increased overall WTP, while education increased WTP for instant flour. CONCLUSION : We conclude that there is a potential market in low-income African countries for instant and fortified cereal food products, but likely in the higher income and education groups. The increased cost needs to be compared to the premiums consumers are willing to pay. In the next step, the new and promising products could be tested in pilot markets, with target consumers.The Office of Agricultural Research and Policy, Bureau for Food Security, U.S. Agency for International Development, under the terms of Cooperative Agreement No. AID-OAA-L-14-00003, through Purdue University’s Food Processing Lab (FPL).http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1097-00102019-04-01hj2018Food Scienc